After the War: Ginny
by Blue98
Summary: The war is over, but not for Ginny. There is a war inside of her. And this is the story of the war inside of Ginny in first person.
1. Chapter 1

**SPOILER ALERT!**

**Please do not read this story if you have not read the amazing **_**Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, **_**because it will give things away that I really dearly wish never to give away to anyone who is interested in reading the books. I have, though, used a code name for the name of someone who died. I will be calling him 'Rodent' and those of you who have read it can probably guess whom that is. If you continue reading this story and you have not read the last book of Harry Potter, than it is your own fault if you find out who dies. I also own no characters of this book - All characters who you recognise come from the imagination of JKR, not mine (:**

A short chapter, just explaining what Ginny's feeling and everything. Things will start to happen in the next chapter.

The war was over.

But somehow, it wasn't.

It didn't feel like it.

The war had chipped bits of my heart and my soul, and I had this feeling that it would never truly be over.

_Rodent _had died. My heart felt like it was going to explode. I was going to explode. I couldn't bear the crying. I couldn't hear it any longer. I just wished that everyone had stayed in that room with me… The Room of Requirement. Because if they did, then we could've stayed safe. Yes, we could all be well right now. But they left. And so did I. And I had killed. So what if they had been Death Eaters? I had still shrieked the spells and hexes. I had killed. Everyone had killed. And others had died. _Rodent had died_.

I remember seeing Harry, thinking he was dead. It was the most wretched feeling ever. That was the point where my body had changed – where it had refused to cry.

I hadn't cried for the last two weeks. I hadn't cried in the funerals. I hadn't cried at home, in my room, where no one was watching. No. My life consisted of a living hell inside of me, and the nightmares. They were always the same – Harry who I thought had been dead, _Rodent _sitting on the table with his still form, with two others who I loved dearly beside him, and Bellatrix Lestrange in front of me, about to fire… No. My life consisted of a living hell inside of me, and the emotionless face that no one looked at any more.

I hadn't smiled for so long, nor cried or scowled or showed any signs of emotion. I knew this not because I sat in front of a mirror all day, but because when I ate or spoke, it felt strange to move my face.

Harry was staying with us at the Burrow, and Hermoine, too. But the most surprising to be with us was none other than Luna Lovegood. We all loved her, and sometimes she flickered some kind of emotion inside of me with her weird comments, but I never really knew what that emotion was. All the same, I enjoyed her being with us. She, too, had lost someone – her father. Although, she took it more graciously. Dad tried to follow suit, but the rest of us never bothered to make an effort on how we took it all.

Today, we were going to Bill and Fleur's house. Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Luna, Dad and I. We stopped in front of the small cottage. It hadn't been a long drive, but I felt stiff as I got out of the car. The aura was almost as mellow as The Burrow's, which was somewhat surprising, seeming Fleur was never that close to Rodent.

"Ginny." She said, in her thickly French-coated accent.

"Fleur." I replied, and once again it felt strange to move my face.

"Can I see you?" She asked.

I looked at her in confusion for a moment, hesitating.

"Okay…"

"Alone, please."

She walked to the garden, everyone else seeming oblivious, going into the house after Bill.

"I'm sorry Ginny." She said, and it seemed as though I was looking at a completely different woman, for she had worried lines on her face that I'd never seen before. She looked genuinely, and strangely, worried.

"Why should you be sorry?" I murmured.

"Rodent…" She said.

I flinched.

"Sorry… Look… we're family, are we not?"

It took me a moment, but I found myself nodding.

"Well… it seems as though I haven't been treating you like family… I think I should… After what's happened…"

I was under great shock. _Fleur _of all people was talking to me about this. No one had spoken to me about it. No one had spoken to anyone about it.

There was an awkward silence.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for not treating you like family. You're the youngest in the family, and in any way that I can help, I will."

And without another word, she left me in her yard, feeling speechless. I was kind of pissed. It had taken someone to die for her to realise that she was being completely rude to me.

Sighing, I went into the house, too, giving 'the grave' a single look. Everyone was seated at their long table. They used to have a small, round one, but when Harry, Hermoine and Ron had showed up with the goblin, they decided that they better get another one.

I went to sit between Luna and Hermoine. No one was talking, save Bill and Dad. We all knew they were trying to ease the mood a bit… But they were talking about Hogwarts, of all things, which only caused more pain, if anything. _Hogwarts, _the place where it'd all happened. The place where I used to call my second home, now a place where I never wanted to go back…

I abruptly left the table, going to the bathroom. I locked the door and lay facedown on the tiles. It was nice and cool, and I didn't have to think about anything…

I woke up to a thumping sound. I jolted upright.

"Ginny?"

It was Hermoine.

"Sorry, sorry." I muttered, arranging my hair in the mirror.

"Are you alright in there, Ginny?"

"I fell asleep," I said, opening the door.

One of her eyebrows were arched.

"You fell asleep in the bathroom?" She asked.

I nodded. "I haven't been sleeping well…"

"So let's go to Bill's place where we can all have a slumber party in their bathroom!" She said.

We both said nothing for a minute. She sighed.

"That's not good, Ginny…"

"I know."

"Well, Bill and Arthur are talking in the garden, now…"

Nodding, I walked around her and back to the dining room.

"You okay?" Harry asked.

"She was just… tired." Hermoine said.

"Where's Luna?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Uh, Fleur wanted to talk with her… go figure." Ron said.

"She talked to me, too…" I said.

They all looked at me, questioningly.

"It was nothing." I mumbled.

Harry was looking at me with an expression of… pity? It was annoying, and looking at Ron and Hermoine, I realised they were as well.

"What?" I asked.

They shook their heads, searching for another subject to talk about.

It was a long night, and I kept feeling myself dragging off to sleep. It was a relief when Dad finally said we were leaving.

In the car, Hermoine was questioning Luna about what Fleur was talking to her about. Luna blushed, but otherwise said nothing. Hermoine gave up, a cross look on her face.

It was horrible at home. It always was. No one really spoke, less than we did at Bill's place.

And qhat Fleur had said to me, soon left my mind, and instead I was focusing on the sheer determination to get through another night.

**Please Review, it'll mean a lot to me. Another - better - chapter will be up this hour. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

**Spoiler Alert! This Chapter gives heaps of clues as to whom "Rodent" is, so I am once again dearly sorry if you figure it out. **

**

* * *

**

I finished eating my breakfast, and along with the rest of my horrid feelings, I was bored. I decided to read _The Prophet _that Dad had left on the couch. It wasn't really interesting, and I didn't actually read the words.

Luna came down the stairs, humming a tune that was just a bit too high-pitched. She didn't seem to notice me sitting on the armchair behind the coat stand. I forced myself to read the papers. It was annoyingly normal, like nothing had happened a few weeks ago... or was it months now? I looked at the date on the front of the paper - it had been two months.

I'd wasted two months of my life being depressed. I remembered back to when I had fought with Ron... about _snogging_. It seemed utterly ridiculous. But somehow I _wanted _to go back to that time, where everyone was still healthy and breathing, where it really seemed to matter that I'd snogged so many boys, and when Ron hadnt snogged anyone...

Someone else was walking down the stairs now. I turned another page of the paper.

"What song's that?"

My heart stopped. It was George. And he was speaking clearly and calmly... I remembered the last time I had heard his voice. He'd been screaming. When everyone had been in the Great Hall at Hogwarts 'that night', he'd decided to sneak off, and I'd followed him. I wished I hadn't, because seeing him crumpled on the floor out the front of the school still haunted my dreams. But right now, he was _speaking_.

"Hm?" Luna asked, stopping her humming.

"That tune you're humming... I've never heard it before."

"Oh, well you don't want any Ridged-Tummy Star-Stealers in your house, do you?"

"Whats?"

"Well, a good friend of dad's has taken over the magazine, and I read it today, and it has detailed instructions on how to keep Ridged-Tummy Star-Stealers out of your house. They're really horrid. Here, read it."

In my peripheral vision, I saw Luna handing the magazine her father used to write, into George's hands. He read it for a moment, then snorted.

_George snorted_.

My heart was hammering, because George had been worse than me, and he hadn't shown_ any _emotion, not even speaking. But now, not only was he speaking, he was snorting as if he found something amusing.

Luna resumed her humming.

"I'm really sorry about your dad." George murmured.

It was really stupid of him to say that -

"I'm really sorry about Rodent." Luna replied, stopping her humming for only a second.

I waited for him to storm off to his bedroom, to scream like he had two months ago. But it didn't come. He merely flinched, and I could see him clearly from behind the newspaper, hands in his pocket, and a straight face.

"Mum'll be real happy about what you're doing... she likes looking at stars through the kicthen window... she wouldn't want them to disappear, or anything." He murmured, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "I like the stars, too..."

I felt a strong urge to run up to my bedroom, but George was blocking the entrance to the stairs. I knew what was coming, and if they found out I was sitting here this whole time...

He walked slowly over to Luna, who had stopped her humming ubrubtly, and she was frozen to the spot, because she knew that George was about to kiss her... She showed no signs that she didn't want him to...

I threw the paper to the ground, and darted over to the entrance of the staircase. George was looking at me, with an expression of loathing on his face.

"I'm sorry." I choked.

He was about to kiss her, and I had made the split decision to leave. I didn't want to be in the presence of their first kiss.

And then something escaped me, something that I had been holding in for two months.

Tears.

I was crying, and I didn't want them to see my weakness that had chosen to show itself to George and Luna, so I quickly dashed up the stairs, and I could hear two pairs of feet coming after me.

I threw myself onto my bed when I reached my room, not even bothering to close my door, for that'd only add to the dramatics.

The next thing I knew, the arms of my older brother were around me, and I was bawling my eyes out over his shoulder. Luna held my hand, and she looked like she was trying to hold herself together, too.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I muttered, and I tried to stop crying, but the more I tried, the more I couldn't.

"No Ginny, shh." George murmured.

I couldn't remember the last time any one of my brothers had comforted me, but I was touched. But I still tried to stop, because I was so loud, and sure enough, I had more of an audience in a minute.

"It'll s-stop, p-please R-ron g-go!" I mumbled.

I groaned. Hermoine and _Harry _were behind him.

And so there I was, in my room, with the five people who were closest to me, crying out the past two months, wishing dearly that I wasn't. And the worst part was, that now Hermoine was sitting in the corner, silent tears running down her face. I closed my eyes, because I couldnt bear the fact that I was causing others pain.

"What happened?" Harry demanded.

"It's nothing." George said.

"It doesn't _look _like nothing!" He roared.

"Calm down, Harry," Luna said in her usual misty voice, "It's just been really tough for her, and she was in the room when I said her brother's name..."

Harry looked bewildered.

"Just g-go, H-har-ry." I muttered.

He shook his head furiously, taking my free hand in his.

My cries were quieter now, and I realised how much of a fool I had been making of myself. All just because I was in the room when George was going to kiss Luna...

This thought brought another wave of hyseria with it, and George pulled away, looking at me with worry.

"Here." Harry muttered, and now it was his arms that were holding me, and though I'd never admit it, it was much more preferable.

I breathed deeply, trying to make the tears as silent as Hermoine's, and soon I was under control.

"Mum!" Ron said.

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no!_

"Ginny?" She whispered, and she sounded horrified.

I opened my eyes, and standing before me was my mother, looking speechless and broken.

"I'm fine." I said in exasperation.

She shook her head.

"What happened?" She whispered.

"I - I, was downstairs, and Luna - George, I..." I took a deep, steadying breath. Sitting up stiffly, I searched through my sheets for my pajamas, wiping my face with them, thinking of what I could possible say.

"Luna and I were talking." George said for me, "And she said _his _name, and she just broke into tears..."

Mum nodded, obvisouly not buying it.

"George was going to kiss me." Luna said confidently, and I felt a strange urge to slap her. "And we didn't realise that Ginny was there, and to put on top of the fact I said her brother's name, she was embarressed, and she ran upstairs crying, which I believe would probably be the first time she'd shown any emotion since... You know."

Mum looked more understanding now, though still trying to comprehend.

The words whirled around in my head. _George was going to kiss me... It doesnt _look _like nothing... What happened? I like the stars too... She said _his _name, and she just broke into tears... We didn't realise that Ginny was there... She was embarresed... The first time she'd shown any emotion since... _

My heart felt like it was breaking my ribs, and I was feeling light-headed.

Mum walked out, muttering something about lunch.

Sniffing, Hermoine stood up, taking Ron's hand and saying that she was going to help cook. Then Luna gave my hand a squeeze, telling me it was okay, following after them.

"I'm sorry Ginny." George said, and the apology was written all over his face. "I shouldn't have been so angry at you..."

"Can we please just forget about it?" I mumbled.

"Sure, sure." He said, and then it was just Harry and I in the room.

I looked at my fingernails, feeling his eyes on my face. Slowly, and cautiously, I looked up until his emerald eyes were burning into mine.

"The war's over, Ginny." He said, and he sounded strangled and pained, "I don't want to ever leave your side again..."

The emotion in his voice was overwhelming, and I had no words to say, so closing my eyes, I leaned up and pressed my lips against his, telling him that I, also, never wanted to leave his side again.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Spoiler Alert - Please do not read this is you have not read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_**

**The characters and places from this story that you recognise are from JKR's imagination, not mine.**

**And also, this chapter is not so amazing, my apologies. **

Chapter 3

* * *

As far as I was concerned, the embarrassing event from last week hadn't happened. Only the affects had.

Harry and I were once again, an official couple. So were Luna and George. This was something that if I'd known a few years ago, wouldv'e been dreamlike. Luna and George? But mum couldn't be more thrilled. George was okay. And okay was something, and he had been a nothing.

Being Harry's girlfriend had its up sides, and its down side. The up sides were that he insisted on treating me like a princess, and that he handled me with care and love. The downsides were that he was famous. He was The-Boy-Who-Lived a hundred times over, The-Boy-Who-Defeated_. _And it was frustrating because he was so much more than that. He was the one that held my hand like it was my heart, the one who kissed me with such care, the one who hundreds had died for, the one who hated himself for it...

Today, the six of us were walking the streets - something we wouldn't have done just a few months ago. I liked the feeling of the sun on my face. I liked the feeling of many things now, having been a breath away from death not so long ago. I liked the feeling of how my muscles pulled as I strode ahead of the group, and the feeling of Harry's hand in mine.

We were meeting Neville. It had been far too long since we'd last seen him, and the memory was stained. We were meeting in Diagon Alley in a few hours, and so we'd decided to go out before hand and make an event of it. But there was no event to make. How could we make an event? So it was like a sad story, where the only event was, that we could walk outside on a sunny morning. It was enough.

Sighing deeply, I looked up at Harry. He'd been almost silent the whole time, and every time I'd looked at his face, he seemed to come out of a deep concentration, giving me a weak smile.

"What are you thinking?" I murmured.

He shrugged. "There's heaps to think about."

"Like?"

"I... I don't know what..." He sighed, as if trying to word something without it sounding corny. "I don't want to be an Auror anymore."

I nodded in understanding. "So you don't know what you're going to do now."

He nod.

"Sure. Me too..."

"Well, you still have a year to think about it."

I gave him a look of outrage.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm _not _going back to Hogwarts."

He thought about this for a while, then we were interrupted by Hermoine catching up to us, Ron attached to her hip.

"Will you two slow down?" He whinged.

"Sorry." I muttered, slowing my pace.

It was my turn to think now, and I didn't hear a word that the others were speaking, even when George and Luna joined into conversation. I was somehow getting used to George speaking again.

Harry had expected me to return to Hogwarts... How could he possibly think that? After everything that had happened, how could he expect me to waltzed back in as if it hadn't? It was completely absurd. So who else thought I was going back? Especially if it were my last year, where I would be the last Gryffindor in my family... There was Luna, but she was in Ravenclaw. Hermoine was my closest friend, and she would be gone, Harry was my boyfriend whom I was crazily in love with, and he would be gone... I wouldn't be able to stand the hurt of a year without him in an alien place that haunted my every dream.

"I'm not going to Hogwarts." I declared, interrupting whatever Ron was about to say.

"But you have to go back." Hermoine said.

"No I don't. If you don't remember, you skipped you three skipped your last year, and George-"

I cut off immediately, biting my tongue.

"But it's different, Ginny," Ron said, ignoring the last bit, "We had to do something really important... You don't even have plans."

I was furious.

"You can't expect me to go back there alone!" I fumed.

"You won't be-" Luna started.

"You're not even in Gryffindor, Luna!" I snapped, startling even myself, "I can't handle going back alone - save Luna - to the place where my worst nightmares came true."

I shook my head furiously, refusing to believe that everyone here expected me to go back there.

"Calm down, Ginny," George said, "Let's talk about this rationally."

"There's nothing to talk about." I muttered, "I'm not going to Hogwarts without Har- I'm not going to Hogwarts alone!"

Pulling my hand free from Harry's, I strode off at the pace that was comfortable to me, my arms crossed. I tried my very hardest not to think of Hogwarts and what had happened there, concentrating on my breathing - in and out, in and out...

The others were talking behind me, on top of each other, so my every stride lengthened, blocking them out with all my might. In and out, in and out...

I'd embarrassed myself yet again! But I'd just assumed that they wouldn't expect me to go back -

In and out, in and out...

Okay, so concentrating on my breathing was stupid, and it didn't work. I only worked myself up more, and before I knew it, I was muttering to myself about double standards and being the youngest in the family. I heard Harry's laboured breathing as he tried to catch up with me, and I made no attempt to reply his questions.

"Ginny," He gasped, "What was that all about?" A pause. "Are you okay?" Another pause. "Ginny, why are you ignoring me? Ginny answer me! Why-"

"I'm the youngest in the family, Harry! But that doesn't mean that I should be treated like a child, because in your last summer holidays, you weren't a child, and when George -" I groaned. I stopped in my tracks, grabbing my red hair at its roots.

"Ginny..." He murmured, kissing me on the head, and like always, when he said my name, something like butterflies stirred in my stomach when I heard my name on his tongue.

Despite myself, I hugged Harry around the waist, trying very hard not to think about it, which was easy now. His lips found mine, and somewhere in the backround there wolf whistles and childish laughs. I paid them no attention, because right now I was in a different world where no one had died, where i loved Hogwarts, where I was a complete person whose biggest worries were the next Quidditch game and a five foot long potions assignment that i hadn't even bothered to start. I entered this world whenever Harry kissed me, and it was the world where I found things quite perfect, the world that I wanted back so dearly.

We stopped when the others reached us, Ron saying something about women.

"Well, now that you've had your little fit for the day, Ginny," George said, ruffling my hair, "Shall we go to the Leaky Cauldron? Neville should be there in an hour or so..."

And then I was side-along apparating to the Leaky Couldren, my hand firmly in Harry's where it belonged.

Opening my eyes after the uncomfortable apparation, I saw that George looked highly nervous. I made a mental note not to go anywhere near the joke shop with him. We would keep well away from it, maybe at the coffee shop where we would just talk with Neville.

But there was another pressing matter on hand. We weren't the first to arrive early. Sitting on a stool behind the bar of the Leaky Cauldron was Neville Longbottom, his hand being held by another. I blinked twice, because I was _sure_on my life that this couldn't be true. I exchanged nervous glances with Harry, Hermoine and Ron. Their face seemed to echo each others, and to my left, George looked utterly bewildred.

Neville Longbottom was sitting hand in hand with Harry's ex-girlfriend Cho Chang.

* * *

"You're here!" Neville exploded with excitement when he saw us, evidently hearing the big _crack _of our arrival.

I rearranged my expression into a smile, but I felt that it was weak with shock.

"You're with Cho Chang." Luna said as soon as we were in a speaking range with Neville and Cho.

I felt like rolling my eyes at her obviousness of the statement, but I had a feeling that Cho didn't like Luna, and I didn't like Cho, so I wasn't going to embarrass Luna by doing so.

"Uh, yes, and you're with George." He answered, a sad look in his eyes.

Luna beamed, "Oh yes."

"So..." Neville said.

There was an awkward silence, and Cho's tanned skin looked flushed. I looked at Harry, and I knew the discomfort was worst for him. I squeezed his hand, and he squeezed mine back, reassuringly.

"The coffee shop?" I asked.

"Uh, sounds good. Cho?" Said Neville.

She nodded, taking his hand and walking out the back, to the brick wall where Neville opened the portal to Diagon Alley.

We walked slowly to the coffee shop, Harry uneasely. I looked up to see his expression, and he looked umcomfortable. I smiled weakly.

The talk was small when we got to the coffee shop, speaking of how we were going and how our families were. Overall, the afternoon event was a lot different to what I'd expected it to be. I felt like laughing outloud at how crazy this had gotten - first, my brother starts going out with Luna Lovegood, and now Neville Longbottom was going out with the prettiest girl in his grade. I was sure that any second now I would wake up, and I'd be at Hogwarts where my biggest problem was that I was failing my Potions class. But it was all real - Harry and me, Ron and Hermoine, George and Luna, and Neville and Cho. And of course it was real, because if it wasn't then Rodent would still be alive, and there would never had to have been The Order of The Phoenix, or Dumbledore's Army, and they had happened. It had all happened.

We were in the middle of an uncomfortable conversation of how Neville and Cho had gotten together when Luna stood up and asked if anyone wanted ice cream.

"We'll come." Hermoine said, pulling Ron up with her.

Cho had a strange look on her face, and she was sitting annoyingly close to Harry and me.

"You and Luna, huh?" She laughed, speaking to George.

"What's wrong with that?" George asked tensely.

"Hmm... I guess I asked the wrong question." She said, and stifling a giggle, she said in very childishly, "You and _Loony, _huh?"

And I don't know what possessed me, butbefore I could stop myself, I had slapped Cho Chang.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Spoiler Alert - If you have not read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I strongly advice you not to read.**_

**Anything or anyone you recognise comes from the wonderful mind of JKR**

Chapter 4

* * *

"What a day." George muttered, sitting himself down at the table.

We'd returned to The Burrow shortly after my incident, and I knew that I'd never be able to live it down.

"Alright honey?" Mum asked, cooking a pot of stew.

"_Sure_, if my little sister slapping Cho Chang counts as alright."

I tensed myself, swiftly glaring at George before burying my head in my hands.

"Your little sister _what_?" She yelled.

I sighed inwardly. I knew this was coming. It'd been completely and utterly stupid of me to slap her. I'd acted so strangely all day long - first going totally spastic about going to Hogwarts, then slapping Cho Chang for calling Luna by her completely ridiculous and offensive nickname. She hadn't even been wearing her radishes, or her bottle-top necklace. I actually thought she looked pretty today. Obviously Cho had something wrong with girls looking pretty.

"He said she - ow! Hermoine, don't hit me!" Ron said.

"Can you tell me _why _your little sister decided to slap Cho Chang!" She demanded.

"Apparantly," Said Luna, "She called me Loony."

"Oh! Well that explains it all, doesnt it?" Her voice was laced with sarcasm, "Well if you decided to slap someone every time they called Luna Loony, you'd have a pretty sore hand, Ginny."

"Mum." I groaned. "I don't even _like _Cho!"

"Good for you! Since when does that give you a one way pass to slapping her?"

I knew I couldn't win this.

"I said I was sorry." I mumbled.

"What was that, sorry? I couldn't hear you."

"I said, 'I said I was sorry.'" I answered.

"Oh, Arthur, have you heard?" Mum said, keeping up the annoying charade as Dad marched through the door, "Apparently it's okay now for you slap someone because you 'don't like her' and because 'she called Luna, Loony', then tell them 'you're _sorry'._"

"What?" He asked, taking off his coat and putting it up on the stand beside the couch in front of me.

"George and Ginny were just telling me the wonderful tale of 'How Ginny Weasley Slapped Cho Chang'." She said the words like they were the title to a well known story.

"Cho Chang?" He asked.

"Oh yes, we forgot to mention that Neville's going out with Cho." George muttered, obviously not enjoying all the attention.

"Neville _Longbottom_ you mean?" Dad asked, bewildered.

We all nodded.

"Let me get this straight." He said, "Neville brought Cho along today, and you don't like Cho, Ginny, so when she called Luna, Loony, you decided it was the perfect time to slap her?"

"She's been really rude to Harry, too, hasn't she Harry?" I asked, turning to him for support.

"I - uh, yeah." He looked at me questioningly.

"It's a rule of etiquette that you don't talk about your dead boyfriend to your totally alive boyfriend who just happened to be watching it all fold out." I snapped.

"Oh, yeah, that. Yeah, she's been rude to me." He said.

I scowled at him.

"But she's never actually hit you, has she?" Mum asked, but we were interuppted by something that I didn't ever want to have to see again - a patronus.

Although I was somewhat glad for the interrution, it brought a flood of memories with it, memories that I wished to never face. I was at the wedding dancing, and then all of a sudden a patronus conjured up, and everyone was apparating away. Bill grabbed me and Fleur, and then the next thing I knew, I was in their empty cottage... I was firing jinxes as fast as I could, then all I could feel was cold. Then from behind me, I see a swan shimmering over and around me, leaving me okay to keep fighting. The memories swam in my head, making me feel lightheaded. I forced myself not to faint, trying to concentrate on what was happening right at this moment. There were no Dementors in this house, so that could only mean one thing:

"All members of The Order to Three Broomsticks, please." The patronus said before dissapearing.

We all looked at each other in bewilderment.

"_Members of the Order_?" It was Ron who broke the silence.

"But _why?" _Mum sounded horrified, the slapping incident entirely forgotten.

"There's only one way to find out..." Dad said.

"I'm coming." I said. "Whether you liking it or not."

Mum thought for a moment, then nodded furiously.

"Alright, we're all going." She said.

"What's the Order?" Luna wondered.

"Think of it as an adult version of Dumbledore's Army." George said, and he sounded severely pained.

"George?" I asked.

"It can only mean one thing." He said, his voice grave.

"What?" We all asked, for I was sure no one else had the faintest thing.

"We're the only survivors, people!" He almost yelled. "The Order is dead! That was McGonagall's way of telling us that we need to receive what was in their wills."

The silence was rang after he spoke, and it was painful.

* * *

He was right. Soonly after his short speech, we all apparated to Three Broomsticks where Professor McGonagall was waiting with pieces of parchment spread before her.

We walked over to her cautiously, a learned habit from the past. We took seats around her.

"I expect you all know why you're here." She said, apparantly forgetting about greetings.

We all nodded.

"Alright, then... I'm sorry that it wasn't any sooner, it's just the cleaning you know? I think it's done, but I also thought that last month, and last week... And then there's the paperwork, and the meetings, which children are attending Hogwarts after summer, which ones arent..."

I interjected, "I'm not."

"Yes you are." Mum argued.

I shook my head furiously, "I've been through this already, Mum, and I'm not going."

Sighing deeply, she decided to divert her attention back to McGonagall.

"Actually, Ginny, thanks for reminding me." McGonagall said, "I wanted to ask whether _you _three would like to come back to Hogwarts for your last year..."

She was talking to Harry, Ron and Hermoine. I felt a spark of hope inside of me. If they were going, then I would definitely go. A brighter future was drifting towards me, and I -

"No." Ron said.

I gaped at him.

"How can you make your decision so quickly?" I snapped.

He shrugged, "I just really-"

"I happen to think it's a wonderful idea." Hermoine said. "Don't you, Harry?"

I looked at him, and perhaps he read something in my eyes, but you looked back to McGonagall nodding.

"I'll think about it, Professor, thanks."

"All right then." She sighed, "The next thing, Harry, would you like to discuss it alone?"

Without any hesitation, he said, "Anything you'd like to tell me, my family can hear."

I was truly touched, deeply moved. He called us family. He _was _family. And so was Hermoine. Luna was even getting there, too. The epiphany made me feel light headed.

"Alright, then... It's to with Ted Lupin. Your godson."

It was the last thing I had expected, and looking around, it was the last thing anyone had expected.

Harry recovered, nodding once again, saying, "What about him?"

"Well, you see, we all know the horrible fates of their parents, and so I think that maybe, and apparently I'm correct-"

"Get to the bloody point!" George said, then with a look from Mum he quickly added, "Please Professor."

She took a deep breathe, clearly uncomfortable. "You're a legal guardian of little Teddy, Harry."

He gaped at the woman. He wasn't breathing. Instinctively, I took his hand and squeezed it for reassurance.

"It's okay, Harry." I murmured. "I'm here."

"We're all here." Dad said gruffly.

Clearly dazed, he said, "What does that mean?"

"It means... It means that you and his grandparents share custody over him, and that's for you three to sort out... You may, however, decide that it's best for them to look after him for the time being. It means that you can see him when you want to."

He looked at me, his eyes wet, and they clearly said _why is this happening to me_? Lifting up our joined hands, I placed a kiss upon his. Blinking back tears, he was nodding again, and I learned that this was a sign of nervousness. He took a deep breath.

"Thank you, professor." He said.

"Alright, then..." She said, then very slowly and deliberately, she said, "They also bought a house during the pregnancy..."

No! Harry has enough on his shoulders!

"They're leaving that to you, Hermoine."

The silence was more shocking than last time.

"_Hermoine?"_ Ron choked. "W-what?"

"They left Hermoine the house, probably because of her acedemics, and they know she'll handle it all well..."

"Where is the house?" Hermoine whispered.

I wanted so badly to hold her hand, too, but there was only so much I could do.

"Near The Burrow." McGonagall said.

She nodded, satisfied with this.

"Thank you, Professor." She said.

Flicking through more of the parchment, McGonagall looked highly stressed, and I, too, wanted to give her some kind of reassurance.

The next thing she said was hardly audible.

"Sorry?" Mum asked.

She cleared her throat, her breathing laboured. "The beach belongs to you, Mr and Mrs Weasley."

"The what?"

"Remus and Nymphadore had this thing about beaches... Dora's parents, very discreetly, bought them a beach as a wedding present. They slept there one night before returning to the job we had on hand..."

Tears were silently falling down my face now, and I wanted to wipe them away quickly, but Harry had both of my hands locked in his firm grip.

"They left us a beach?" Dad asked, stunned.

McGonagall buried her head in her face, nodding. The silence which hurt, was broken by the front door opening. I had completely forgotten our time and place. They quietly ordered drinks, and thankfully, they weren't in the mood for chat.

"Okay." Mum sniffed. "What else?"

"That's all from the Lupins..." She murmured, lifting her now-blotched face from her hands.

Her hands were shaking. She knew exactly what she was going to say this time, and apparently it was the worst bit. I braced myself, gripping onto Harry's hands like they were my life.

"Harry..." She sobbed. "Harry, P-professor-" She cried into her hands, apparently unable to speak.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall?" His voice was barely audible.

My heart hammered against my chest, and I was actually going to explode now, I could feel it.

_Just speak! _I almost yelled_, Please! Just say whatever it is you need to say! Get it over with!_

She wiped the tears trailed along her face, then spoke in a very clear voice. "Professor Severus Snape wrote his will while your mother was still alive, Harry. His parents were dead. He had to give someone his house, and it was the most he had, and he wanted Lily to have it if he ever died so she could at least have a small fortune." She stopped to cry again, and this time I didn't want her to speak. I didn't want her to say it.

"No!" Hermoine gasped. "No! No!"

I was in a living nightmare, the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck standing on end. I ripped my hands away from Harry's burying my face into it.

McGonagall recovered once again, and then said the words that I could have gone my whole life without hearing:

"The house of Sevurus Snape belongs to you, Harry."

And then the darkness pulled me under.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Spoiler Alert - If you have not read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I strongly advise you do not read this.**_

**Anything you recognise comes from the artful mind of JKR**

Chapter Five

* * *

I was in one of those dreams that I'd had before, one where I knew what was going to happen. It was like one of those movies where you know what's going to happen, and you tell the actors to stop! But they never do.

Bellatrix Lestrange was sneering at me. She lifted her wand, and she was about to fire...  
She's interrupted by a commotion just outside the doors.

I look out. Lord Voldemort is the first one I see, and it's like a million dementors are closing in on me when I see who's at his feet, dead...

I feel like personally killing him. But for a millisecond, he looks into my eyes, and I can't move, and I can't speak. I want to run away, I want to scream, but I do nothing. Standing there with pale white skin, snake-like slits as a nose, red eyes with vertical pupils, there is a war in my system, and I'm paralysed.

But then Voldemort fades away, everyone around me fades away, everyone but Harry.  
I walk over cautiously, holding my breath, willing him to stand up and tell me he's kidding or something, because he can't be dead, he can't be...

I reach him, and I put out a hand, and for a moment I feel happiness because he's starting to sit up, but then he looks at me, and it's the same face as before...  
His beautiful, emerald eyes are red, his soft, pink lips have dissapeared, and his face is morphed into one I hate, one that makes me want to throw up, scream and run away all at the same time.

I wake up screaming.

"Ginny!"

_It was just a dream... _

"Harry." I murmured.

I opened my eyes, and his face is there, a face that makes me want to sing and dance every time I see it.

"It was just a dream." I breathed.

He moved his face, and behind him was the rest of my family.

"Where am I?" I muttered.

"You're at home." Dad said. "We apparated you back to The Burrow."

"Oh God, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Ginny." Luna said, "It's been a very long day."

I nodded weakly, sitting up feeling lightheaded.

"I'm going to bed." I said.

"No you are not." Mum said.

"Huh?"

"First you tell me what that was all about."

"What?"

She looked around, as if what I was saying bewildered her.

"You sorta, bloody screamed, Gin." George said.

I felt my skin go hot. I had no idea why I'd screamed this time in particular, when I hadn't ever before. Not since the night of the war, anyway.

"That was nothing." I muttered, "I'm fine."

As I tried to get up - from the couch? - Mum gave me a dissaproving look.

"Mum, I said it's nothing. Really."

"I'm not buying 'nothing'." She said.

_Clearly._

I suppressed a groan. All I wanted right now was some sleep, some peace, quiet and sleep. It'd been a long day, what going from slapping Cho Chang to finding out Snape left Harry a house?

As I made my way up the stairs to my bedroom, I heard Mum telling the girls to keep an eye on me. Great. Having little money, and therefore a small house, Luna and Hermoine were sharing my bedroom. I heard them coming up behind me.

I lay down on the first bed, burying my head into the pillow, not even bothering to change into my pajamas. I knew Hermoine and Luna would want to talk to me, and I wished that I had some kind of super power where I could fall asleep as soon as I lay down. But I didn't have that super power, and Luna and Hermoine _were _going to talk to me. Sure enough, as soon as Luna closed the door, Hermoine was speaking.

"Ginny, what was that all about?"

"It was just a dream, that's all." My voice was muffled by the pillow.

"Well..." She hesitated, "What kind of dream?"

I shrugged, still speaking to the pillow, "I've had it heaps before, it's nothing to worry about."

"Then why did you only scream this time?" Luna asked.

I shrugged again. "I don't know. Just drop it, please."

And so they did. But I _did _in fact know why I screamed this time. Usually, Harry would speak to me in parseltongue, and then I woulf wake up. He had never turned into Lord Voldemort.

* * *

I thankfully had a good nights sleep that night, save the usual dream where I was falling. That was easily explainable, since I felt like that all the time these days.

I had a shower, letting the water on my face clear my mind, make it feel like I wasn't going crazy, falling apart inside. Unfortunately, showers only go for so long with seven people waiting to go after me. I changed quickly, and downstairs, Percy was home. He hadn't been home for a while now, busy helping Charlie with the dragons.

"Hi Perc." I said.

"Ginny." Said Percy.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"Aren't I allowed to swing by at my folks place every now and then?"

I shrugged.

He sighed, "I received an owl this morning telling me Mum and Dad own a beach, now. And some other stuff..."

I groaned. "I guess it also told you how I managed to slap a girl and collapse from exhaustion all in one day?"

"Uh, not the slapping a girl part, no. But yes, it mentioned the latter... So you slapped a girl yesterday?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Cho Chang." Luna said matter-of-factly, skipping down the stairs in her usual, dreamy way.

"Hi Luna... nice earrings."

"Oh, don't offend Luna, Perc, Ginny might just slap you." Dad said from the table.

"But she likes Percy, doesn't she?" Mum said, "It has to go along with the fact that she doesn't like you."

I scowled.

"If looks could kill..." I heard Dad say under his breathe.

"No, I actually like her earrings." Percy said.

I suppressed the urge to laugh. Luna was wearing her radish earrings today, and I was sure that would be the first time someone complemented them without a snide joke.

"Thank you, Percy." Luna said, getting some eggs from Mum.

"How many eggs, Ginny?" She asked.

"Uh, I'll have whatever Luna's having." I said.

George walked down the stairs and over to where Luna was now sitting, pecking her with a kiss on the cheek. Percy's eyes bulged. He opened his mouth to speak, but I elbowed him in the gut before getting my breakfast from Mum.

Soon, everyone was sitting at the table eating, and I tried very hard to block out Mum, Dad and Percy, who were talking about the plans they had to sell the beach. I thought about someting else McGonagall had said last night, something I'd completely forgotton about among all the other news - whether Harry, Ron and Hermoine wanted to go back to Hogwarts next year.

It was pretty simple - I was only going if Harry was. I couldn't stand being away from him for another year, while he was out doing who-knows-what. He still hadn't told me what he was up to in the last school year, and though I assumed it was very important, I couldn't understand why there were double standards between Ron and I. How come Ron could go off with Harry and Hermoine, and they expected me to go back? So yes, the danger was over now, but still, there shouldn't be such double standards.

I sighed. I'd talk to him about this later. All I wanted today was some peace, some time to let the imformation from last night to sink in.

"Ginny!" Mum almost yelled.

"What?" Had I been eating with my mouth open without knowing it?

"I said you've got an owl."

"Oh." I huffed.

I didn't know when the last time was that I got an owl, but assuming from the looks on everyone's faces, I wasn't going to get the day of peace that I wanted.

* * *

**Sorry about the abrubt ending, I'm at my grandma's and we have to share the computer, so I quickly had to wrap up the chapter. Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

_**Spoiler Alert!**_

**Anything you recognise belongs to JKR**

**

* * *

**

_Laughing is the best medicine. _

It was a howler... Apparently, Cho now had a big red mark on her pretty face.

I tried very hard not to laugh, though failed miserably when George cracked into hysterics. So now we were all laughing - even Mum, Dad and Percy. It was the first time we'd laughed in so long, and it felt great. Somehow, I laughed even harder when I realised that the first time we'd laughed in months was due to the fact that I slapped someone. So, evidently, we were laughing because someone got hurt. It wasn't the best thing to laugh about, but at least we were laughing.

When Cho's mum said, '_and to think you two used to be friends,' _I was crying with the laughter. It seemed hilarious that just minutes ago I had been terrified by opening the howler, and now I was feeling the complete opposite. Anyone would think I was going mental. Maybe I was.

* * *

I got my wish - Hallelujah. The day was actually quite nice. The sun was up, so we ate outside on a rug, and the conversation was light. We didn't mention anything about the night before, because we didn't want to crush the mood our ridiculous laughing fit had put on us all.

Hermoine, Ron, Harry and I were sitting as a group, with George and Luna not so far away, her raddish earrings threatening to sweat in the heat. And Dad and Percy had gone inside to help Mum clean the house.

"I think Cho still likes you, Harry." Hermoine said.

"Good for her." Harry muttered. "I dunno what I ever saw in her."

I was lying on my back, his hands tracing patterns on my face, so I hardly minded the path our conversation had taken.

"Hermoine?" I asked.

"Mm?"

"What are you going to do with your SPEW carreer?"

Ron and Harry chuckled.

"Oh." She said. "Well, I was sort of planning..."

"Planning what?"

"To have some good NEWT points for it." She muttered quickly.

"Oh yeah." Ron said, "About that. You don't _really _want to go back to Hogwarts, do you?"

"Of course I do, Ron." She sounded slightly outraged that he'd thought otherwise. "You couldn't ever imagine someone like _me _going on with life without some good NEWT points."

"You got perfect OWLS." Harry pointed out. "That could be enough. I mean, you have a pretty good excuse for not doing your last year..." His voice trailed off.

"But I don't have a pretty good excuse for not going back to do it."

I opened my eyes to see the blinding light being shaded by Harry's - beautiful - face.

"Hi." I murmured, and I felt myself smiling.

"Hey."

"Anyway," Hermoine said, "I don't see why we shouldn't go back."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Would you go without me?" Ron asked in a small voice.

"No." She said too quickly.

"Right..."

She sighed, "I think you should as well, Ron. It'd make Ginny really happy if you did..."

"Don't bring me into this." I said.

"Well do you _want _us to come?"

I sighed, hating myself for bringing up the subject.

"I'm only going if Harry is." I said.

"See! And Harry's only going if we are."

"I never said that." Harry said.

She didn't speak, but I could tell that she'd raised her eyebrows.

"Fine, I guess it wouldn't be as great with you two there." He admitted.

"Please Ron..." She begged.

He took a deep breath, "Okay. If that's what makes you happy."

There was a silence.

"They're snogging, aren't they?" I asked.

Harry nodded, a smile on his face.

"_Ronald!" _Mum called.

"W-what?" He yelled.

"Come and put away your clothes!"

"But why just m-"

"_Come_!"

I snickered as Ron and Hermoine left.

"I've missed that." Harry said.

"Missed what?" I asked.

He paused. "Your laugh." He murmured, "staring at you without having to be caught out... the list goes on."

I smiled weakly. "I've missed you, too." I closed my eyes, feeling the tingling of his fingers along my face.

The silence was long and comfortable. Eventually, I sat up, wrapping my arms around his neck, kissing him until I forgot my name, like I -

"Ginny, I think Mum wants you to put away your clothes, too," George laughed.

I opened my eyes, looking over Harry's shoulder, and sure enough, Mum was standing in the doorway, watching. I felt self conscious as I sighed, and got out of Harry's arms.

"You can never get privacy around here." I muttered.

"Never." He agreed.

"So, Luna." I said, shuffling over to where she sat with George, "Are you going back to Hogwarts?"

She looked at George for a long time before finally saying, "No."

"Why not?" I asked, "Even if Harry, Ron and Hermoine come? It wouldn't be complete without you..."

She shrugged, "Or George."

"Oh yeah." I mumbled.

Of course, George wouldn't be going back, even if he dropped out in the middle of his last year. And Luna was staying to support him...

George kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Please!" I groaned. "Why doesn't Mum care if you kiss Luna? I mean, she's three years younger than you!"

"Are you trying to say she's too young for me?"

"No." I said quickly, "It's just if _I'm _not allowed to kiss Harry, than you shouldn't be allowed to kiss Luna."

"She never said you weren't _allowed, _you annoying git." He said. "She just doesn't like it..."

"I don't know whether to be more surprised that you called me an annoying git, or that you think Mum wouldn't try and make a new rule in the house for no kissing."

He rolled his eyes.

"So you're going back?" Luna asked.

I nodded slowly, "Well Hermoine said she'll go, so Ron's going, but if Har-"

"She's going." Harry cut in, "And I am, too."

"How sweet!" George said.

"Shut up!" I slapped his shoulder.

"Oooh! I'm gonna get Mum to send you a howler!"

Despite myself, I laughed. So that day, I found myself laughing like I had no worries in the world. I wanted the feeling to last.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_**Spoiler Alert**_

**Anything you recognise comes from the artistic mind of JKR**

**

* * *

**

Dreamless nights and happiness only last for so long, and I'd known that for a while now. It was unfair, and frustrating, but that's just the way things were.

The Ministry was trying to get its act together, and they were failing miserably. They sent a letter out for Luna, with the address of the gaurdian she was supposed to be sent to. Evidently, George didn't like this one bit.

"You're not going." He said, taking another bite of his toast.

"They said I have to, George." Luna said, her voice tenser than I'd ever heard it. "So I guess I'll be leaving tomorrow...''

"You don't even know who they are!" He retorted.

"Apparently they're my... um, my uncle's wife's second cousin..."

"Your father's best buds... obviously." He muttered.

"What happened to the rest, dear?" Mum asked, and we all knew what she meant.

Luna shrugged. "They've either died or don't even speak English."

"Stay with us, Luna, they're S_yltherins_." She said for the millionth time that morning.

"Molly, the last thing I want is for you all to get in trouble. You've been more than gracious to me for the past couple of months."

She looked like she was in severe pain. She obviously knew that if she left, George would fall to pieces again, but staying here caused the risk of Mum and Dad getting in trouble. I wanted so badly to comfort her, for her to go back to her usual, dreamy-like self.

George stopped eating, balling his hands into fists, locking his jaw.

"George." Luna murmured, "Please George, it's okay..."

"Tell me how it's okay." He said, each word slow and steady, as if he was trying not to yell, "I have a business to run all by myself because Rodent died; I _need _you, Luna. I don't want you going to some _Syltherins-" _He sneered the word "- where I don't know what's happening. Who in bloody Merlin's name cares how much trouble we get in? You _need _to stay."

The silence was tense. All I wanted was to give him a hug, to bring Rodent back to life, or better still, to turn back time. I couldn't bear this any longer. Why did Luna have to go? It was like she belonged here already, the way Harry belonged here.

"Harry had to go to the Dursleys every summer," Luna pointed out, "And he'd been through so much m-" She changed what she was going to say, judging for the look on George's face, "And I only have to go until my seventeenth birthday. My birthday's in three months, George, so after that, we can go back to the plans."

"Plans?" Mum asked at the same time George stated, "It's been only _two _months, Luna, and it's been the longest bloody months ever. Don't tell me it's 'only' three months."

Luna looked like she was going to cry.

"George, leave her alone for now." I murmured.

"Don't you bloody go off telling me what to do!"

Tears stung my eyes.

"Oh great, now she's going to go off crying again." He muttered.

"I am not!" I spat, quickly wiping away the evidence with the back of my hand.

"Calm down, George." Ron said.

"Stop telling me what I should be doing right now!" He yelled, his face furious.

"Luna is shaking!" I barked back.

He froze, looking down at Luna, and for the first time in my life, I saw what Luna looked like when she was scared. I hadn't really seen her on the night of the war, but my skin pricked as I realised that this was probably what she looked like.

"I'm so sorry." George said, hugging Luna.

He stood up quickly, then said, "I'm going to go and calm down," and he was gone.

"Luna, honey, it's okay, he just loses his temper sometimes." Mum said.

But it was clear in her eyes that she wasn't scared of George right now. The war had finally caught up to her.

* * *

Shortly after, I'd taken Luna up to my room. She looked horrified.

"Luna..." I said.

"Yes?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"You don't have to go."

She shook her head.

I took a deep breathe, "Please don't go. We all want you to stay..."

She smiled faintly.

"You know, a few months ago I was just happy to have you as friends... and now we speak as if we're family. I'm touched."

"Does that mean you're going whether we like it or not?"

She nodded, "I'm sorry... Will you look after George for me?"

Tears sprung to my eyes.

"Of course." I muttered, wiping my eyes.

"So... I have a week." She whispered, as if her voice would betray her if it were any louder.

"A week." I agreed. "What was your plan?"

She blushed. "I was going to help George with the store..."

"Oh." I mumbled. "When you turn seventeen, you still can."

She shook her head, "George is right. Lately... even a day is too long."

I couldn't agree more.

"But yeah, I will... All things aside... I'm - I'm happy." I could hardly make out her last word.

"That you have a family." I was whispering too, now.

"Yeah. I used to have my mum and dad... now they're both gone, and I have... Well I have the _Weasleys _of all people." She laughed weakly.

"And we have Loony Lovegood." I joked.

She rolled her eyes.

"We're different people, now." I stated.

"Yeah... We all are."

**_Sorry for another tacky ending. I have to go quickly, and I'm sick of writing this chapter.. I know - I'm slacking with these. Please Review anyway._**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

**I'm terrible sorry for my slacking lately, I promise to make this as good of a chapter as I can.  
As usual, I remind you not to read this is you have not read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  
And anything you recognise belongs to JKR.**

After three minutes of snogging on end, Luna and George pulled apart. She picked up her bags, and with a goodbye, and a small wave, she apparated to her new home for the next three months.

George, Mum and Dad obviously saw no more reason to stand outside, so they went into the house. Ron, Hermione, Harry and I stayed outside, letting the emptiness of Luna's departure settle. The past week had been building up to today, and each day got tenser and sadder. I wished that it had been a different week, a week where Luna was her normal, weird self in a way that I would've loved to remember her. We were going back to Hogwarts in two months, so we probably wouldn't see her until Christmas. I had a horrible feeling George would go back to his depression stage. I was grateful that she had chosen not to attend her last year.

"She'll send us letters." Hermione said.

I nodded, not looking to see what reaction Harry or Ron gave to this.

The silence stretched on.

Eventually, Harry said, "It looks like it's going to rain."

Indeed, the clouds overhead were dark and grey. No one answered him, and he didn't even move, himself. Soon, it was raining, like the sky was crying for the fact that Luna had left.

_Luna had left._ The words of my thought echoed in my head. Why was everyone being taken away? Okay, so she wasn't dead. We were going to see her again. But it still felt so awful, because she had made everything easier to handle.

Finally, I moved, and the muscles in my body felt tense as I wrapped my arms around Harry. He kissed my face until he found what he was looking for, and for a moment, I had forgotten about the war, about Luna leaving us behind when things were just starting to turn up - hell, I forgot my own name.

And then there was a noise from the inside. It made my throat close in, and tears fall silently down my face until I was sure Harry could taste my tears. The crying had started. Again.

* * *

_The _crying, was Mum's crying. It had lasted for so long, until the day where _I _had cried. It was the worst sound in the world, and it raised goosebumps on my arms.

I pulled away abruptly from the kiss.

"I didn't sound like that, did I?" I asked in a whisper.

Harry grimaced. I groaned.

"Worse." Ron said, apparently wanting to talk about anything to drown out the crying.

I looked at him with franticness.

"But at least you don't do it all the time..." He said quickly.

I cursed under my breath. "What do we do?"

"Someone should talk to her." Hermione said.

We glanced at each other.

"Dad." I said.

Ron snorted without humour. "Yeah, I wouldn't count on that. It has to be one of us... I doubt our other lovely brothers wouldn't want to. I think it should be a girl." He added.

I scowled.

"It's just that girls are... you know."

"Girls are what?" Hermione demanded.

"Yeesh! I was just trying to say that girls are like... _better _at this kind of thing... I mean guys only deal with it when they have to... dealing with crying, I mean..."

"Nicely put." Harry muttered.

I rolled my eyes, "I guess what he's trying to say is, that because I'm the youngest, I have to deal with her. Is that right?"

"Pretty much." He admitted.

"I could do it." Hermione volunteered.

"No you couldn't." I disagreed.

"Well... Good luck." Ron said.

"What? Not _now_?"

"When do you suggest? Next week? Next month? Next year? Why procrastinate?"

"I cannot believe your game!" I fumed, heading for the front door.

"Nice going." Harry muttered, coming after me.

Ron made kissing noises, and I rolled my eyes. _Men_, I thought.

"Harry, I can do this myself." I said, but they were just words.

"I just wanted to give you a kiss for good luck..." He said, planting a kiss firmly on my lips.

I was lost for a moment, trying to make it last although I knew it wouldn't... When he broke away, too soon as always, I pulled away to study his face. Then I did something I'd never done before - I lifted up my hand and traced the scar on his head with my finger. He closed his eyes, a small frown on his face.

"Sorry." I whispered.

"You should be." He said, a smile playing on his lips, his sweet breathe flowing into my face.

"Why?"

"You're the one who apologised - you should know." He said, but then he added, "For making it so hard to think.

I laughed weakly, "Says you."

"What do you mean?" The smile disappeared off his features, and now I was the one smiling.

"_You _make it hard for me to think..."

"I hardly believe that's true." He murmured, pressing his lips back to mine.

When he pulled away, I was dazed.

"What were we talking about?" I mumbled.

"Ha!" He laughed.

I felt my cheeks getting hot. He brushed his fingers along my right cheek, making it tingle. As if to remind me, I heard a long whail from up the stairs.

"Stop that!" I muttered, taking a step back while slapping his hand away. "I have a job to do..."

"Good luck." He smiled.

I wasn't sure if he heard me, but as I made my way over to the stairs, I said, "There's no such thing."

* * *

I hesitated in front of the door, my hand just an inch away, ready to knock.

_Just stop crying so I don't have to do this..._ I willed, but when she didn't, I took a deep breathe then held it, knocking on the door.

The crying stopped, but it didn't make my heart slow.

"Who is it?" She sobbed, and it almost sounded fearful.

_Lord Voldemort_, I thought.

"It's me." I said instead, letting out my breathe in a gust, "Ginny."

There was a pause. "Ginny?"

_No, I was kidding._

"Yes."

"Oh... Come in, then."

As I opened the door, she was wiping her wet face.

"You heard me?" She whispered.

_The whole street heard you. _

I nodded.

She looked around, as if I was a rare visitor and she didn't have any drinks to offer me.

"What's up?" I asked, cautiously.

"Oh Ginny!" She cried.

_Merlin, help me now!_

I sighed, walking to my over-theatrical mother's bed.

"It's just..." She sobbed, as if she was wanting someone to ask her this for a long time, "Rodent."

As usual, the speaking of this name zapped my heart, but I kept my face straight as she wailed.

"And George was okay for a couple of weeks! And it was because of _Luna! And now she's gone!_"

_Really? I didn't know that!_

"Mum, these things happen, okay? Life goes on."

I held my tongue, wanting to say so many other things, but also thinking that I'd said too much.

She nodded, then cried, "You shouldn't have to be comforting me."

_Then stop the crying? _I wanted to suggest.

"But I am. Life goes on." I repeated.

"I wish I could turn back time." She said after a brief silence.

"So did I." I said, "But then as the night grew farther and farther away, I knew that that there was no such thing. And in a million years, or even a billion years, there still won't be. Time is the one thing that we can't change. The only thing that we can change about it, is our view on it. Once you accept that you can't change what's happened, and you can move on, you've mastered the magic of time." I sounded so corny, I wanted to gag, so I added, "One kind of magic they didn't teach me at Hogwarts."

My attempt at humor didn't work, but Mum just looked at me with a mixture of awe and sadness.

I put a hand on her shoulder.

_Now get over it like I have, and stop crying! Once is enough! Believe me._

The silence lasted, and I wondered whether Mum was going to yell at me next for who-knows-what, or break down in tears. Option one was preferable.

* * *

I felt like giving myself a massive pat on the back.

_Good work, Ginny! You got through to one of the most stubborn women on earth! Without using the Imperius curse!_

As I walked down the stairs behind Mum, I felt like I deserved a round of applause from an audience below, waiting for me. But to my dismay, no one was there.

After the long silence in Mum and Dad's room, Mum had announced that she had dinner to make, and sure enough, the first place she went was the kitchen.

_Where is everyone?_

I skipped passed Mum, feeling ready to break down into a dance.

Outside, Harry, Hermione and Ron were waiting anxiously. I opened the door, then ran over to them, closing it behind me.

"I did it!" I said when I got there.

I would have preferred to yell it out to the whole world, but that would surely have offended Mum.

Smiles broke across their faces.

"Good job." Hermione said as Ron pat me on the back and Harry reached out for my hand.

"So, what happened?" Ron asked.

"I went in there, said some things I wouldn't ever dare to repeat again, and now she's cooking dinner!"

"Oooh, what did you say?" Hermione asked.

"I said I'd never dare to repeat them again."

She frowned.

"But anyway, the point is... I did it!"

"Very good." Ron said.

Beaming, and feeling very proud of myself, I asked what everyone was talking about. They shrugged, saying that they weren't really talking about anything, just enjoying the rain that met them every now and then. As if on cue, it started sprinkling down with rain.

"I wonder if George is okay..." Hermione mused.

"That's another matter." I said, "One deep and emotional is enough for me in a day."

Ron sighed, "So anyway Harry, what are you going to do with your new house?"

I frowned, "I thought you weren't talking about anything?"

"Well, we weren't until you came." He muttered.

Harry shrugged. "I guess I'll sell it... That's what he wanted my mum to do with it anyway..."

"Who would want to buy that place?" Hermione asked.

"Wait, you've seen it?" I interjected.

They nodded, and Harry gave me a picture that had been sitting on the other side of him.

"McGonagall gave it to me after you passed out."

I wrinkled my nose. It was a very Snape-styled house, with dark curtains and a murky look about it.

"Why would Snape want to give _Lily _a house?" I asked.

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged looks.

"What story is there that I haven't heard, again?" I asked in exasperation.

These guys always seemed to leave me out of their conversations, apparently forgetting I was Harry's girlfriend.

Harry sighed and went into the story that he had learnt of the night of the war. He left me speechless, and I was sure my mouth was hanging open.

"B-But..." I said, trying very hard not to cry like I had during the whole story.

"I'm guessing you want to know everything else, too?" He asked.

"There's _more_?"

"Well, I just thought you'd like to know what we were doing while we weren't at Hogwarts."

Ron and Hermione exchanged uneasy looks.

"Harry are you sure...?" Hermione asked.

"Of course I'm sure. Neville kind of knows, anyway."

"_Nevile_?" We all yelled in unison.

"Shh!" He hissed. Then clearing his throat, he said, "Yeah, I... well I'll get to it..."

By the end of this one, I was definitely cryng. It was yet another information overload. My head spinning, I lied down onto the grass while the rain splattered against it, washing away the tears.

"I'm so sorry." I said, to the sky.

"Don't be." He said.

It was silent, and with the sky darkening even more by the second, we made our way inside with somber looks.

What Harry had said had reminded me all too clearly of what had happened a few months ago, because bits of it had happened that night. The losses lay heavy in my heart as I remembered. I felt like I was out their again, wondering which side will win, whether I'd live... And the longest days of my life while I waited for Harry, my brother and Hermione, praying every night that I would see them all again... I shuddered, and Harry firmed his grip around me. If it wasn't for that arm around my waist, I would've gone under long ago.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Please do not read if you haven't read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Anything you recognise is JK Rowling's

I am terribly sorry for the delay. As some of you may know, I am currently working on a book that I will one day call my own and publish. Thank you to my readers; you mean a lot to me.  
I will make this huge gap up to you by making this an extra long chapter, and I am once again sorry if it doesn't turn out wonderful. I am a lazy person, and I don't proofread my fanfic.

* * *

Why wasn't it working? It worked last time.

I frowned, extremely frustrated. How long had I been lying in the bathroom? Was it an hour now?

I was tired, and I hadn't slept for days without that stupid Voldemort-Harry dream. At least I hadn't screamed like the first time, but still.

I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. I remember admiring my hair, back when things were normal, and my pale skin with freckles that I learned to love. But I looked terrible now, with huge dark purple bags under my eyes that clashed with my now-scruffy red hair.

Too bad I hadn't paid more attention in potions class. A sleeping potion would've _really _come in handy. I pulled out my wand, scowling at it.

"You've been no help to me lately," I said out loud, "You stupid, rosewood dragon whisker-"

"Talking to yourself is never a good sign, you know?"

I jumped hugely, my heart going busurk.

"George!" I almost screamed.

I flew the door open.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"What are _you _doing?" George shot back, holding a towel in his hand.

"Trying. To sleep." I told him through clenched teeth.

He raised an eyebrow.

"In the bathroom...?"

I sighed in frustration.

"You can use the bathroom," I muttered, walking back down the stairs.

I trudged down, eventually getting to my bedroom, and flung myself across my bed.

"You okay, Ginny?"

Once again, I jumped, whirling around.

"Hermoine." I mumbled, trying to calm down a bit.

She sat up from where she'd almost been asleep on the third bed in the room. Luna's bed was still in here.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Tired." I muttered.

"Then go to sleep..."

"I can't."

"You haven't even tried."

"Yes I did," I said in frustration, then feeling my face go hot I quickly said, "In the bathroom."

Her face mimicked the expression George had worn.

_Maybe I am going crazy..._

"Okay..."

"Anway... I'm going to try and get to sleep now."

"If you're that desperate, I have my potions book here that you can use for some other night."

_What would I do without you?_

She laughed, seeing the expression on my face.

"You could have just _asked." _She said, "You know me. I always have my books."

"Yeah, but your potions?"

We laughed. It felt weird.

"Try to sleep..." She said.

"Sure, sure." I mumbled, getting more tired by the second.

"Meditate." She yawned.

"Ha. Yeah right."

* * *

I knew I was in the dream from the moment it started, fighting near the entrance of Hogwarts, and my insides were screaming in protest, but I couldn't make it stop.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

_"_Rapunzul, Rapunzul, let down your hair!"

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Rapunzul-"

"Shut up!"

There was laughing.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

"You're gonna break it."

"I am not."

_Mm, I know that voice._

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Merlin, wake up!"

_Ugh. Not that one._

"Mmmmm, hey stop it."

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

"I said stop it!" Hermoine yelled.

I sat jolt in my bed.

"What's going on?" I demanded.

"Those boys are trying to wake us up!"

She was right. The constant tapping noise was coming from my window - rocks were hitting it. _Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

I got out of my bed, still extremely surprised that I hadn't gotten past the beginning of my dream.

I threw my window open, and the next rock missed my ear by an inch.

"What's going on?" I called down.

I looked down, and to my great surprise, not two, but three figures were standing in the garden.

"Look who the wind brought." Harry called back, a huge smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Hi Neville."

"Hey Ginny."

"Hermoine, come -" I turned around, but she was already fast asleep again. I felt bad for waking her up last night.

I turned back to the window, reaching for the curtains while saying just loud enough for them to hear, "I'll be down in a tick."

Throwing on any clothes I could find, and my cloak on top, I quickly dashed downstairs and into the backyard.

"Neville." I smiled, giving him a huge hug.

"How are you?" He asked.

"Um, yeah good. You?"

"Pretty good."

"So, uh, where's Cho...?" I wondered awkwardly.

I looked to my right where Harry and Ron looked uneasy, pale and for some reason, angry. At me?

"Uh... we broke up."

"Sorry." I mumbled.

"Naw, it wasn't because of you."

"Are you sure...?"

"Definite."

I looked at him questioningly.

"She only asked me out to make Harry jealous..."

"Uh..."

I didn't like the turn our conversation had taken. This was one of my least favourite topics.

"How do you know that?" I wondered uneasily.

"Well it's obvious. It always was. Especially now she's going out with-"

I felt skeptical. Out with who? I looked to Harry and Ron. They were pretending they'd never seen garden gnomes before. I frowned.

_Thanks, guys._

"Who?" I asked briefly.

"Er... I've heard a rumour that she's dating uh, Malfoy."

I laughed, cried out in shock and coughed at the same time, altogether leaving me choking.

"Malfoy?" I eventually asked, although it was almost a scream. Surely I had heard him wrong. _Surely_.

"Yepp."

That explained why Harry and Ron were acting so strange. They'd obviously heard already.

"But it's just a rumour..."

"Er, actually, we know for sure."

"How?" I asked.

"Because I saw Luna a couple of days ago."

A million questions burst into my head. _You saw Luna? How? Why? What has that got to do with any of this? YOU SAW LUNA? HOW?_

_"What?"_

"Well, it's kind of a long story..." He looked uncomfortable.

"Is this why you guys wanted me so badly?"

Apparently satisfied with the garden gnomes, Harry and Ron looked back to me, then to each other, then back to me, and nodded.

I sighed.

"Where's Hermoine?" Ron asked.

"Still asleep." I said.

He frowned and muttered something about it being nine o'clock.

_Well, it's a Saturday. _

"So, are you gonna tell me this story?" I asked.

"Alright..."

"Has George heard...?"

"Uh... I don't think he'd want to..."

I was suddenly worried. Was Luna in trouble? If Malfoy was involved...

"Tell me everything."

* * *

"Okay so the other day I went to Diagon Alley with my grandma to Gringotts, and Luna was there with a bunch of people who are probably Slytherins..."

"Probably Slytherins?" I asked skeptically.

"Well yeah..." He took a deep breathe, sitting down on the grass.

The three of us followed suit.

"You see, they were probably Slytherins because Malfoy was there... and Cho..."

"Yeah well Luna's relatives are Slytyerins." I said, "It was in the papers. But Cho?"

"So I went to Luna to say hi, and she didn't look really good. Cho was a little while away in the crowd, so I didn't see her or Malfoy yet. I asked her where all you guys were and she told me she had to stay with 'this lot' for a while. She was talking really quietly, obviously trying not to attract any attention. She told me to come by to The Burrow and tell you all that she's okay. And then..."

"Then what?" I almost snapped, annoyed with his dramatics.

"I heard that disgusting droney voice."

"Malfoy." I said, like it was a horrible disease infested name.

"Yeah. And who other than _Cho _hanging off his arm?" He shuddered. "Something's wrong with that girl. I swear she got hit with a hex that makes her permanently deranged."

Harry, Ron and I snickered.

"He was calling Luna, Loony, ordering her around like she was a house-elf."

I was glad Hermoine wasn't here to hear the comparison.

"And then Grandma told me we had to go..."

"And you did? You just left her there?"

"Well, what else could I do?" He asked defensively.

_I don't know. But not that._

"Nothing." I muttered.

"Geeze. Do you think they're related?" Ron asked.

"I don't think so..." Harry mused. "The Malfoys were related to the Blacks... I don't think I saw them on the tree..."

"Well they might've been." Ron said, "That was like, in another lifetime..."

"Yeah, I don't really remember." He admitted.

"Poor Luna." I said.

"Yeah." Agreed Neville.

"So we're not telling George?" I guessed.

"Not telling me what?"

I flinched, groaning internally.

"That you're a git." Ron said.

"What?"

"Nothing..."

"So what is it you don't want to tell me, but will now that I overheard you?"

We all exchanged looks as he sat down with us.

"Um... If we tell you, you have to promise not to do anything rash." I said slowly.

"What, like try to go to sleep in the bathroom?"

I frowned, but otherwise ignored the comment.

"Well Neville saw Luna the other day..." I said, watching his reaction. There was a flicker of emotion on his face, but he tried to keep calm.

"Hi Neville." He muttered almost robotically.

"And the Malfoy was there..."

He looked shocked.

"Wha-"

"We don't think they're related or anything." Ron said quickly. "But Neville said he was bo-"

"Ron." I said sternly.

_Not that bit!_

"Let him finish." George said.

I put my head in my hands.

_And George is the git?_

"Neville said he was boring." He said.

I scrunched my eyes up.

"Uh-huh... Sure..."

"He was with Cho." Harry said, obviously trying to take the attention away from when Ron was about to say 'bossing her around'.

"Cho?" He choked.

_Haha, it worked. Harry's a genius._

"Yeah, she's obviously trying to make Harry jealous." Ron said.

The hope inside of me fell. All of a sudden, there was a panick inside of me that wasn't happy that Harry had changed the subject, but worrying about why _he _changed the subject to _Cho_.

"Well that was obvious." George said.

"Thanks mate." Mumbled Neville.

"Sorry... So was she okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, as good as you'd expect her to be with a bunch of Slytherins."

I looked up to see George's face go hard.

"She's strong." Neville quickly added.

This wasn't what George wanted to hear either.

"She'll be okay." I quietly said. "She always is."

He nodded, trying to stay reassured.

"Breakfast!" Mum called out from the house.

"How long are you staying for?" I asked Neville as we all stood up.

"Uh, how long _can _I stay for?"

Harry, Ron, George and I all smiled.

"So long as you like, mate."

**I know I said I owed you and everything, so this wasn't the way to do it. I am extremely sorry, I just wanted to put _something _up since I haven't for ages. It's an ubrupt ending, but I am literally going camping right now. **

**I would really like to know your opinions on the way my story is heading. Also, I'd like to ask you an important question. Please don't read it if you haven't read the Deathly Hallows.**

**I visited JK's site the other day to see if she had any extra books - which she does - and I ended up exploring the whole thing. There was a part that says who everyone ends up being with. George and Luna aren't actually supposed to be together. In other words, they marry different people. I really don't like fanfics that change the way things are supposed to be, but I would really like to know whether you think they should stay together or whether they should have a clean break, and i introduce the other characters for it to end the way it's supposed to. I really like your opinions, so please let me know. Thank you very much, Blue (:**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Sorry, no intro, I've gotten extremely lazy :L

* * *

When Hermoine woke up, it was like the old times... minus Luna and _him_, which I tried very hard not to think about. Even George stayed with us. Although I knew this was probably so he could hear any more news about Luna if it came up, I was surprised. Mum was stoked that we were finally behaving somewhat normally, and she invited Percy, Bill and Fleur to dinner. Percy had been staying with them for a week, now.

The night was great, and George even cracked a joke or two. We laughed, and it felt natural. I felt like I was flying.

"It should be good." I was saying. I was talking so much tonight, probably more than I'd spoken altogethere since 'that night'. "Harry, Hermoine and Ron are coming back with me."

"Ah yes, they took last year off, didn't they?" Bill asked, a small smile on his distorted face.

"Yeah," I said, trying to avoid the fact of _why _they'd taken the last year off. The thought gave me chills every time it came into my mind.

"So how long to go?"

"Uh... What's the date?"

"Twenty-fourth." He answered slowly.

"Of..." I said even slower.

"July."

"Well than obviously it's only a month and a half." I muttered, my stomach going hollow.

I looked at Harry, beside me. _A month and a half..._

"What?" Bill asked.

"It's just..." I tried to compose myself. "It's sooner than I thought it was..."

"You're right." Mum said, dishing Neville some more potatoes. "We need to go to Diagon Alley as soon as we can."

"Yeah." I muttered.

The conversation drifted, and I turned to Harry,.

"A month and a half!" I whispered urgently.

"Yeah, it's your birthday in a week, mate." Ron said on the other side of him.

I gaped. Didn't anyone else see the crisis at hand?

Hermoine leaned over Ron.

"I know, Ginny." She said.

I sighed in relief internally.

"We have to let Du-" She stopped short. "I mean... We have to let McGonagall know."

"What?" I shook my head frantically.

"What's the matter, Ginny?" Harry asked with concern in his voice.

"Doesn't anyone feel... you know?"

"What?" He asked.

"I just don't feel... ready, that's all."

"It's okay." He murmured. But there was more in his eyes. _I'll be with you._ But he wouldn't say that in front of everyone here.

"So what are your plans, Harry?" Percy asked, pulling us out of our little conversation.

"Oh, uh, I'm going to Hogwarts..."

"I know _that_, but I mean after that."

"Oh... Well, I dunno..." He frowned.

"Okay... Hermoine?"

"Well, I obviously want to carry on my SPEW."

He raised his eyebrows.

I sighed. This would take a while.

I turned to my right instead. Maybe there was another conversation that was more interesting, one I _hadn't _heard a million times. I smiled to see George and Neville talking animatedly to each other. My smiled faded as I realised they were speaking in too low voices for anyone to hear, and Neville looked kind of uneasy. I decided maybe I _didn't _want to know what they were talking about.

Sighing, I turned back to Harry. I decided just to look at him. He turned to me, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

"Hi." He murmured.

"Hey." I laughed.

Our silence was comfortable.

"So what _are _you gonna do?" I asked after a while.

He frowned. "I dunno... I have two houses now..."

"Oh yeah... What are you going to do with... Snape's..."

I still couldn't hack what Harry had told me about him. I'd always hated Snape. It felt strange to speak of him kindly.

"I don't think I'll sell his house... I've been thinking about it a lot, you know... everything I learned that night. It was more that I learned in the whole year before put together." The emotion in his voice melted my heart. He really sounded like he respected Snape. Maybe it was time I did too... "I think I'll just lend the house to Hermoine for her SPEW thing. She might need it."

I laughed weakly, without any humour.

"She'd like that." I said, trying to bring myself to this moment in time. Another 'down' about Harry was how he could make you so emotional that it was hard to snap out of it.

"Yeah... And I think I'm gonna live in Sirius' house..." He said.

_Stop using that voice!_

"What about you?" he asked, and to my great relief, he wasn't speaking so emotionally.

_Thank you..._

"Uh, pfft, I dunno." I frowned. I really didn't know...

"Well, I was thinking..." he said, looking down at his hands.

He didn't speak for a long time. Soon, I thought that he wasn't just building tension.

"Thinking what?" I urged, completely forgetting about the world around us.

"It's just an idea." his words came out in a rush, and there was another emotion in his voice. "I mean, you have a long time to think about it, and it's okay if you say no, I don't care or anything. I was just thinking that when school is really over, I'll have to live in the Black's house, and it's kind of a creepy house when you're alone - not that I'd be scared! But-"

I felt a huge smile spread across my face.

"Kreacher can get annoying, andI know we have this new relationship ever since - but anyway, what I was trying to say was, wait I can't remember. Oh yeah, I was just thinking that since there's a few rooms there, if we made the place more homey like we were trying to do back when - uh, I was thinking that we - as in you, and maybe Ron and Hermoine would like to - no, forget about it, it's really stupid, forget I said anyth-"

I leaned in, pressing my lips to his. Soon I realised we had an audience, so reluctantly I leaned away.

"I'd be honoured to come and live with you after Hogwarts." I whispered against his lips. "And I'm sure the others will, too." I added.

I leaned back into my seat, wishing we weren't outside eating dinner with my whole family plus Neville. The last time Harry and I had been alone was our 'goodbye', which Ron had rudely barged in on. But before that, it was at Hogwarts at the lake... I was actually sort of excited to go back to Hogwarts... This year would be good. Voldemort was dead. Life was actually coming for us. Harry could be happy. Or as happy as someone could get after losing all the people he'd lost... With a jolt, it really dawned on me... we were going to live together! Even if it was with Ron and Hermoine, it would still be amazing. Living with Harry, not just temporarily like it was now. I realised I was smiling. I smiled wider after realising, then laughed to myself.

Feeling happy was nuts.

But feeling extatic was another thing, far more than feeling just 'happy'.

* * *

"Bye, Neville." We all said, almost in unison.

He turned, disapparating.

I could have sworn I saw George winking before he left.

_What is he up to?_

I nudged Harry, who hadn't left my side for so long. I didn't want him to - ever. Exept for when we had to go to bed, I would do everything in my power to stay by his side. I would choose the same subjects as him when we got to Hogwarts, and now we'd be in the same year, so we'd get the same timetables. We'd do homework together, and he'd obviously be the Quidditch captain again, and I was sure he felt the same way as I did - although I didn't know _why _- so he'd put me in the team. Yes, I'd do everything in my power to never leave his side.

"George is up to something." I said in a low voice.

He raised his eyebrows.

"I think I know him by now." I said. "The whole time Neville was here, he was talking to him about something. And he winked at him before he left."

"Maybe Luna has another kind of competition to worry about."

I rolled my eyes, unimpressed.

"Well I dunno... I guess we'll find out sooner or later."

"Let's just hope it doesn't make Mum scream." I muttered.

We walked over to Ron and Hermoine, who looked as happy as we did.

"It was a good night." Hermoine said, smiling grandly.

"Yeah." _I get to live with Harry!_

"You didn't eat all of your food." Mum said, walking passed us to the kitchen. I rolled my eyes.

_I get to live with Harry!_

"So, you guys, Harry has to ask you something." I said, unable to hold it in any longer.

_I get to live with Harry! _It was about to burst through my lips.

Harry went tense. I squeezed his hand.

_Just tell them!_

"Yes?" Ron asked.

"Well, it's just a crazy idea."

He shrugged. "Let's hear it."

Five seconds passed. Ten. Twenty. Thirty. A minute.

"Oh just spit it out!" Hermoine burst.

"'I get to live with Harry!" I almost shouted.

They both raised their eyebrows.

"You two should come, too."

"But I thought we were going to Hogwarts." Ron said hopefully.

"After that, you git. The house Sirius left him. I think you two should really come. It would be... fun."

Their eyebrows rose further.

_What is this? Why aren't you excited? Why don't you feel like kissing Harry for being so brilliant?_

The last question was easily explained, but still!

"Well I don't know how Molly would feel about that." Hermoine finally said.

I sighed in exasperation.

"I think it's a brilliant idea, and if you don't want to go, then fine, but I do!" I tilted my chin up.

"You have plenty of time to think about it." Harry said quietly.

I rolled my eyes, walking with Harry back to the garden. I sat on the grass, pulling him down with me.

"You look good." he said.

I raised my eyebrows.

"I mean, you look happy." He said quickly.

I laughed softly, leaning into him.

We sat in content for a while, breathing in the beautiful night air.

The next thing I knew, Mum was waking me up, and I was still lying in the garden with Harry's arms around me...

**Hope you enjoy, another chapter coming soon-esh. I'm gonna wrap it up soon, as you can tell, with everything getting better (:**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Hello readers. I need to give you a quick explanation as to why I have abandoned this fanfic - I feel I owe you. Basically, I have been writing my own book for the past several months. It has been all time consuming, and I have had so much fun with it. I hope you understand. **

**My writing style has changed during this period. I write in present tense because it allows for more thought, and I know I've written this whole fanfic in past tense, but I've gotten into a habit that I don't want to break, because my personal writing means a lot to me. **

**Over the holidays, I watched the Harry Potters for the first time. (I'm more of a book fan), and seeming how close I am to Ginny's character, it hurt so much to see that I've been pronouncing her name wrong! It's Ginny, as in Jinny! :O I was hearbroken when I found out, and I know you all probably know her as how everyone says it is, but I'd love to know if you know someone like me, who said Ginny with a 'g' as in 'goat'. Haha, and Proffesor McGonagall is pronounced every syllable, not mg-nog-all, like I so thought. Don't call me stupid, I'd really like to know if you, or someone you know, made a mistake like that. **

**This is the last chapter of Ginny's fanfic (I will forever pronounce her name the way I want to), and afterwards I will be making another one, whenever I have the time on my hands. It's going to be a surprise, but I will tell you that after that I'll be doing a Hermione&Ron one, and a Ted&Victoire one. The first three will work together, but the last one is just one I'll enjoy. (I might come up with something else that I can weave in before doing my Ted&Victoire one). **

**Please review, but best of all, enjoy!**

Time works in this mysterious, and frustrating way. It's 31st of July, a day which will forever be celebrated, not only by me, but of all witches and wizards in the wizarding world. Today, 18 years ago, Harry Potter was born. About a year later, both his parents died, and well, you all know the story. The point is, that I find that today is definitely worth celebrating. The love of my life was born today, a long time ago, when Lord Voldemort was alive and thriving. Today, he's gone, and he brought down as many people as he could, with him.

The survivors are all here, at The Burrow, talking to each other with smiles on their faces, celebrating for The Boy Who Lived. This place hasn't been this crowded since the wedding. All the surviving teachers from Hogwarts are here, Hermione's parents even, and a huge flock of students, all Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, including one of the Creevey brothers, and Cho Chang. This guest is who made my stomach twirl angrily, but she's surprisingly well behaved. I don't know what to think of it. Angelina Johnson is here, and she's been acting very strange, her hands holding both elbows across her stomach, and when she saw Mum, she quickly hit. Dunno what to think of that, either. The long brown-haired girl with fair skin and splendid fisique has always struck me as a strong person.

Harry and I go through the crowds of people, holding each others hands. His other hand is being constantly shaken, and some people throw their arms around him and thank him. Harry looks overwhelmed by all this, and especially when he met the surviving Creevey brother, who held onto him for a suspsicious amount of time, crying. I don't think he's taken his brother's death too well.

"Sit down, Harry." I say when he's finally let go by fussy Auntie Muriel who's blabbered for about fifteen minutes about who-knows-what.

He lets go of my hand and I kiss his head before going inside to help Mum. She's a little flustered... She invited Hagrid, all the Weasleys, and the Tonkses, and got back all these RSVPs. How does that work? She's busy toying around with a batch of croissants Fleur made, so I go over and take over for her. She dashes to the fridge and does the last minute details on the cake with her wand, glancing behind every now and then as if afraid Harry's gonna turn up. Once finished arrranging the croissants onto a plate that I magick bigger, I hurry outside, afraid of being caught. The Ministry, who we haven't heard from for ages, won't know it's me performing magic when there's so many Weasleys. This fact makes me want to laugh, because all that time Ron fussed about not being able to use magic until 17 in the house...

My mind feels free. I feel free. It's this weird thing, being locked up in your own head with nothing but murderous thoughts to share, then being let into this world where you know everything's alright, that your loved one who's gone, is up there somewhere, entertaining the rest of the bunch.

The table is full of food, but it's dissapearing before our eyes. So many guests means so much more work, and as I hurry back to the kitchen, I see Hermione hurrying back with three plates of different sweet and savoury breads majicked to hover in front of her.

"Still no sign of the Tonkses." I hear her say behind me.

I frown. This is starting to get a little nerve-wracking. I can't wait to see little Teddy Tonks for the first time, and the fact that they're over an hour late is terrifying after being through a war where just 5 minutes means bad news.

It's another twenty minutes before things are running smoothly. The table is full of drinks and food that will last the night, and Fleur surprises everyone by having who else but the Weird Sisters turn up for entertainment. It's been forever since I've seen Mum have so much fun, and I lose myself with a huge smile on my face as I watch her twirl around the garden in the arms of Dad. Almost everyone is on the grass, dancing. I feel like I'm not even at The Burrow anymore. Ron and Hermione are dancing in a corner, to their own little beat, revolving in slow circles, talking in low voices every now and then. Hagrid's with Madame Maxime, towering over everyone else; Bill and Fleur are taking turns dancing like lunatics with everyone, something I would have never guessed from her, even after a huge bottle of Firewhisky; Neville's dancing with Cho, who looks pretty mortified, especially when he trods on her toes. I smile, remembering the time I danced with him in my third year at Hogwarts. It's so different now...

I remember seeing Harry dance with one of the Parvati twins, and feeling my insides squirm when I remembered Ron suggesting that I go with Harry. _That could be me_, I'd thought. And now, it is me.

I stand up from the chair. My feet are itching for a dance as everyone twirls around there.

"Dance with me, Harry." I say.

"Er... I don't dance." He mutters, looking at me uncertainly.

"It's your birthday, which is definitely something worth dancing about."

And so we spend the next half hour dancing, and it's like there's no one in the world but us, and I feel alive and young. Bill takes me off once, twirling me until we're both extremely dizzy, then he passes me over to Ron who's finally broke apart from Hermione. I crane my neck up at him and give him a quick kiss on the cheek before being twirled off to a bunch of girls including a couple of Hufflepuffs, Hermione, and... _Luna! _

"What - How? When?" I splutter, as she takes my hands and does funky movements with her body. I laugh, and so does she and the three other girls. I don't even know who they are but I don't care. I dunno if Harry knows, either, and it's truly touching to see how many people worship him.

It's a while before Luna answers.

"George and Neville." She says.

This explains everything.

"He's taking me to his joke shop as soon as you guys aboard the Hogwarts Express. I'm hiding out here, until."

My insides lift excitedly. "What about the Slytherins?" I ask, but there's another important question so I forget about the first one and move on to the next. "How were the Malfoys there?"

"Oh, that was a one-off." She says dreamily. "It was for one day, all of us were in Diagon Alley. He was with her." She jerks her head to the left and I see Cho dancing with her eyes closed with four Ravenclaws. "He was thrilled I was there, said he hadn't made fun of someone for so long."

"Little git." I mutter.

But we have no more time to chat - I'm back with Harry, who expertedly twirls me safely into his arms and away from the crowd.

"Suave." I say. "I thought you were a bad dancer...?"

"An hour with the Weasleys and a bunch of randoms, and I think I've got it down packed."

I smile up at him.

"So..." He says, and we start dancing to a slower beat. Once again, he's worked this charm on me where the rest of the world flows away. It's just us, dancing slowly together. His emerald eyes seem to sparkle more than ever. "Have you thought about my idea for the House of Black...?"

I smile. "Of course I have. And I can't wait... But, Harry. Don't look like that, of_course _I want to live with you. It's just... Mum. You know how she'll act. I think it'll be too much for her if her baby goes away. Give us the year at Hogwarts, and when we get back... I dunno. Spend another year with me here, and you can do whatever you'd like - you can go for the Auror thing, I _know _you still want to. You'd be amazing at it. Just one year after Hogwarts, Harry. I think I'm going to do the Auror thing, too. We can still be together, but Harry... Voldemort, has gone forever. My gut tells me that we have our whole lives ahead of us. I want Mum to be happy, like she is now."

He looks at me understandingly.

"I knew it would be something noble." He murmurs. "Don't look so shocked. Of course I remember your words to me at Dumbledore's funeral."

"It's like you read my mind sometimes... What _did _Snape teach you in his Occlumency lessons?"

He laughs. We stay like that forever. Then -

"Ted! _Finally!_" It's Mum.

Harry and I stop dancing, as do most of the other dancers. He lets go of me except for my hand, and I feel him standing rigid beside me. Ted Tonks and his wife are standing not a hundred metres away from us, a bundle in her hands.

"That's your little Godson." I murmur quietly so only he can hear.

He nods slowly, and I know what he's thinking. That kid is the only other child the Marouders left. I look up and see something in his eyes that I've never seen before. It's this protective love, something that he's looked at me with before, but somehow different, it's... freakeshly fatherly. I swallow, and there's an emotional bomb inside of me waiting to explode. All this happens in under five seconds, and then we're walking over to them slowly.

"Happy birthday, Harry." Ted Tonks says.

"Thanks." Harry says, but he's looking at the little bundle.

"He's asleep." Andromeda Tonks says. "He's never in the blankets, but he's got a nasty flu. That's why we're late. It took him hours to calm down... He misses them." She chokes the last words and gives the baby to her husband before hurrying off, and everyone knows she's crying. Mum follows her. She knows how it feels to lose a child.

The happiness seems long gone. I feel like crying, myself. The music is distant, and soon, Ron and Hermione are beside us. I take the hand on my right and turn to see Ron. I see bushy hair on the other side of him, and then I look back at the baby. He sneezes, sending purple sparks out of his nose at the same time his hair turns a darker shade of green.

"He's beautiful." I say. "Can I hold him?"

Harry looks at me and swallows loudly, and I let go of his and Ron's hands, offering them to Ted Tonks, who hands me Teddy. He's lighter than I expected, though very big. Orange bogies are coming out of his nose, but it gives him a character. He's so colourful, and I can see him growing up to be the clumsy person his mum was, and the brave fighter both his parents were. Happiness comes back to me. There's this passion that I feel, and it's so strange, like this child is actually worth the price was paid... Kind of like Harry, who's parents died for him. Teddy's parents died for this baby, and although he was a hundred miles away from them at the time, it was for him. I know it. This baby is worth everything. He's a boy who's going to grow up and have a life, and one day, I'll die for my child if I have to. The sadness for Lupin and Tonks fades away as I look at this boy's pale face. It could have been seconds, hours, or days that I stand there, looking at Teddy. Then I look up at Harry, and a tear goes down my cheek.

"Here." I mutter. I hand Teddy to Harry, and he holds him, and I see the same thoughts running through his head that ran through mine.

Once again, time is meaningless. He hands Teddy over to Hermione, who gives him to Ron after a while. He seems to hold him for the longest, his mouth open a little. Then he does it - he cries. I put a hand to my mouth at the same time Hermione hugs him. She pulls away soon, tears on her face.

"Can he call me Uncle Ron?" Ron asks, a stupid grin on his face.

We all laugh, including Ted.

I'd be surprised if there isn't a person at this party who hasn't held Teddy. He's in George's arms when he hear him yell out that Teddy's awake. We all whip our heads around and see a green-haired boy sitting in George's arms, a look of wonder on his face. Luna's looking over his shoulder, on her tip-toes, with Hagrid on the other side. Teddy's hair changed to orange before quickly changing to yellow, and he laughs. All of us - Harry, Hermione, Ron, George, Luna, Neville, and I - play with Teddy for what seems like forever. Then Mum brings out a cake in the shape of a broom, and there's many gasps as another cake comes out behind her, of a snitch. She's already done that one before for Harry, but it still has a dazzling affect.

We're all crowded around the longest table that's ever been out here, two cakes on the table, a knife held in Harry's hand.

"Touch the bottom and you have to kiss the closest girl!" Ron yells out, pushing me over Harry's shoulder. I almost knock my head into Teddy's, who's sitting up in Harry's arms, his hair blue.

"No, no, no!" George calls over the noise of all the jeers and hoots of laughter. "Every guy has to kiss the closest girl if Harry touches the bottom!"

There's many laughs at this. Harry takes a deep breath, and then stabs the knife into the cake.

"HE TOUCHED THE BOTTOM!" Charlie yells, and then Harry's got his head turned backwards and he smooches me on the lips. I break away, my cheeks flaming red, and see George's body tangled with Luna's; I see Charlie kissing a girl I don't even know; Hagrid's as red as a tomato, having just broken away from Madame Maxime; Ron and Hermione break away from each other, their eyes wide, and then there's Bill and Fleur, Mum and Dad, and so many kisses that it's all I can do but laugh. I'm pretty sure the only one not kissing someone is Angelina, but she's laughing all the smae. No one but Harry could make a crowd of people all kiss the closest boy or girl. I throw my arms around him, feeling nothing but bliss.

Soon, everyone's laughing and cheering, and nothing, not even Draco Malfoy or Bellatrix Lestrange or any other Death Eater, dead or alive, could take away this feeling.

"This is my best birthday ever." Harry says, and he's got a huge smile on his face, too, so wide that I've never seen it on him before.

"No," I correct him. "Harry, this is the best night ever."

And so it is. Witches and wizards of Britain have all come together, and there's this happiness hanging in the air, that no one could ever believe that we've just gotten out of the world's biggest war.

**There's a bunch of spelling mistakes, but I would really love to know what you thought. I'm just in such a great rush to end this fanfic that I have no time to check it or anything, so I would like any creative criticism, because it's all amazing. Please, please, _please_ review and tell me everything - what you thought of this last Ginny fanfic, whether you like my story ideas, and whether you've gotten a name horribly wrong and have been crushed by it. I love your reviews, and don't worry - my book'll be much better than my fanfics :D**

**One last thing I'd love you to mention in your review is whether or not I covered everything. Is there something here that hasn't been answered in my whole fanfic? I tried my best, I really did. Thanks, Bluee. **


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